Radicare to be probed

PETALING JAYA: Medical support services company Radicare will be probed to ensure it is fulfilling its responsibility, said Health Min­is­­ter Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

This came about following Radicare’s rubbish collection problem when it changed cleaning contractors in several hospitals, leading to overflowing rubbish and dirty toilets, as well as the shutting down of 12 out of 22 operating theatres (OTs) at Sungai Buloh Hospital after a fire.

“We cannot accuse them without looking at the matter. Certainly, there are contractual responsibilities they have and we will see if there are any lapses. If yes, there are punishments outlined in the contract allowing us to take action.

“What matters is how quickly the issue was addressed. For example, they immediately rectified the issue on rubbish collection,” he said yesterday.

Subramaniam said the OTs in Sungai Buloh Hospital would be up and running by Jan 21.

He stressed that the OT problem was not due to Radicare but caused by an electrical fire.

At the Sungai Buloh Hospital, rewiring work is being done to restore the OTs that were shut down following a fire. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all the wires linked to the 12 OTs were changed.

“We didn’t want to take any chances as we don’t know the extent of the damage,” he said, showing The Star the ongoing restoration work at the UPS (uninterrupted power supply or a battery backup) plant room following a fire at 1am on Jan 4.

Dr Noor Hisham said it was not known yet what triggered the electrical fire as the Fire and Rescue Department was still investigating it.

He said Radicare engineers had carried out regular maintenance work and visited the UPS plant room a week before and there was no issue then.

Radicare is the company which provides support services like engineering and maintenance for the hospital.